Ørsted to sell last 25% stake in London Array

Ørsted has agreed the sale of its remaining stake in the London Array offshore wind farm.
It has signed an agreement with funds managed by Schroders Greencoat, which will pay £717 million for the 25% stake. Among the investors Greencoat UK Wind, whose total investment is expected to be £444 million, comprising equity investment of £394 million (13.7% net stake) and a £50 million loan investment.

London Array has a total installed capacity of 630 MW and entered commercial operation in 2013. Ørsted originally owned 50 % of the project and divested an initial 25 % of London Array to CDPQ in 2014. Ørsted said that it considers the array as a ‘non-strategic asset’, as it does not have operation and maintenance responsibility.

Ørsted operates more than 5 GW of UK offshore wind and its development pipeline includes the Hornsea 3 (2.8GW and the Hornsea 4 project which received consent in mid-July.

Daniel Lerup, Chief Financial Officer at Ørsted, said, “We’re very pleased to have found a strong new owner for our remaining minority interest in London Array. We continue to see significant appetite for offshore wind as an asset class, and with this divestment, we continue our unrivalled track record of efficiently recycling capital to help fund our DKK 475 billion investment programme towards 2030. Ørsted remains committed to the UK offshore wind market and will continue to make significant investments in the country’s green transformation both onshore- and offshore.”

The transaction is expected to close at the end of July.